Johnnie Beattie reacts to new world Top 100 Men’s Rugby Players rankings and the Scotland stars featured

The list itself has been curated by a selection of RugbyPass’ journalists in locations all over the world - covering both the northern and southern hemispheres - and is also informed by the latest Opta data.

Taking the top spot for 2024 is French star, Antoine Dupont. The talismanic scrum half, with 55 international caps, has been at the heart of recent successes for France and his club team, Toulouse. Dupont also recently helped his nation win Gold in the Rugby Sevens at this year’s Paris Olympic Games.

In second place is Cheslin Kolbe, who played a crucial role in the Springboks’ 2023 Rugby World Cup win, with his compatriots, Pieter-Steph du Toit, (3rd) and Eben Etzebeth (4th), with New Zealand star, Ardie Savea, making up the top five.

Antoine Dupont

Beattie - who is now based in France and enjoyed spells with several French sides - believes that the top spot for Dupont is richly deserved: “I think that was the only choice. He's absolutely outrageous every single week and he's a great boy as well which makes it even better. He’s inspired an entire rugby nation. My boys are in French rugby school and at their mini rugby club in Hossegor they’re all in Dupont jerseys.

“The way he gets you out of the seat and his personality off field and the way he leads, all of it, and that's without even getting into how he actually plays the game. The explosive power that he has for a man of his size, his vision, his ability to see things other people can’t, his rugby IQ, his decision making, his ability to kick off each foot as well as the other, which is unseen. His ability to offload, to jackal, to create turnovers like a back rower, he is the most complete rugby player I think that we have ever seen.”

Regarding the Scottish contingent, seven Scotland stars have made the top 100 list. Finn Russell is the highest Scottish player in the list in 12th, followed by Sione Tuipulotu (16), Huw Jones (29), Blair Kinghorn (62), Duhan van der Merwe (65), Zander Fagerson (75), and Darcy Graham (78).

South Africa has the highest share of players (18), followed by New Zealand (17), Ireland (14). France see 11 players represented. Elsewhere, other nations represented include England (8), Argentina (7), Australia (7), Scotland (7), Italy (4), Fiji (4), Wales (3) and Georgia (1).

Former Scotland player, Johnnie Beattie

Speaking about the Scotland players making the list, Beattie says: “I thought that Finn could’ve been worth a top 10 spot, I mean you’ve got him and Sione who’s in the top 20, and you've also got Huw Jones down at 29. Having played with Finn at Scotland in the latter stages of my career, I was fairly disappointed not to get to play longer with him, especially with the way Scotland plays now. He has an ability to conjure things out of nothing, control teams, and make everyone else look spectacular around him.

“You’ve got Blair Kinghorn, Darcy Graham, and Duhan, who all make the top 100 as well but I think the architect is without a doubt Finn. You’ve then got Sione who acts as pivot and the work that they get through, they just show all sorts of different images to position defences and they've become one of the hardest backlines in world rugby to contain, to shackle, and to shut down - so that speaks volumes.

Russell in particular is singled out for praise by Beattie. He adds: “Finn, particularly from a Scottish perspective, is probably right up there as one of the best players that we've ever produced. We've had John Rutherford in the past who was an outstanding stand off - I think he's the last one to compare him to.

“He’s shown time and time again that he can do that with club and country. He’s become our talisman, our leader, and we’re really lucky to have him.”

Looking ahead, Beattie believes that the Scotland team is on an up with its attacking style of play, attracting fans and setting the side up well for the Six Nations.

Beattie says: “You’ve got to think back through periods of Scottish rugby, when I played, and we were pretty dull to watch, but Scotland now are exciting and vibrant and a really fun team. I think, especially living in France now where there's a lot of expats, you've got a lot of Kiwi, South African, and Aussie guys here, Scotland has become their second team. As much as they follow their country, they all now enjoy following Scotland away. Scotland play led by Finn Russell is exceptional to watch.

“Scotland is bouncing into the Six Nations, we’re lucky to have this generation of players. They’re not going to stay together forever, so the real hope now is that they can kick on through the Six Nations.”